A recipe for food
insecurity: Women grow most of the family food but rarely
control the land it's grown on

Imagine a woman in a developing country who has spent
several years tilling a garden plot, making the soil
fertile and rich so it can grow food for her family. One day
her husband decides to take away the plot -- the soil she
has enriched is just what he needs to grow the fruit trees
that provide the family income. He is the head of the
household, and the decision is not to be discussed. She ends
up with a less fertile plot farther away from the house,
where she has to start all over again.

Land rights are
human rights, and women and men should have equal
rights
Photo: FAO/O. Argenti

Millions of rural women around the world, have very limited
land tenure rights -- the set of rights held by an
individual or group to land, including rights to own,
control and use the land. For women, control of land rights
has always been difficult, but it has been made worse by the
ongoing shift from food crops to commercial crops.

"With globalization, the demand for cash crops has grown
sharply," says Zoraida Garcia, an FAO specialist on gender
and land tenure. "As a result, the land on which women
formerly grew food for their families is now being shifted
to commercial production, which is generally controlled by
men. Lack of rights and security regarding land is one of
the most serious obstacles to increasing the agricultural
food production and income of rural women."

While the proportion of women heads of rural households
continues to grow, reaching almost one third in some
developing countries, less than 2 percent of all land is
owned by women. In many societies, tradition and laws are an
obstacle to women's ownership of land, either through
purchase or inheritance. And women's access to other
resources crucial for food production -- such as water and
credit -- is also limited.

Ownership but no control

Access to land, whether privately or communally owned, is
not always a matter of legal rights. "Security of tenure can
be attained by ownership and access, but it also depends on
control of the land and the right to use it. And this is
often determined by tradition and economics," says Ms
Garcia.

In Nicaragua, for example, laws dictate joint ownership
by husband and wife. This legislation has provided a useful
tool for improving women's access to land. However in
practice, this is not enough, as the man is often the only
one who can get credit to buy inputs such as seeds, tools
and fertilizer. In many other countries women have the right
to inherit and own land, but by tradition the use of the
land is decided by men, who are the only ones officially
recognized as farmers.

For women,
control of land rights has always been
difficult
Photo: FAO/O. Argenti

A human right

"What it comes down to is a failure to recognize women as
farmers," says Ms Garcia. "They are recognized as rural
workers and as part of the family labour force, but not as
farmers in their own right." This has consequences for the
growing number of female-headed households, as women have
less access to credit and inputs, and receive only 5 percent
of agricultural extension services worldwide. "Rural women
are among the poorest in the world," she says. "But this is
not about charity. Land rights are human rights, and women
and men should have equal rights."

For the past ten years FAO's Gender and Development
Service has addressed the issue of land tenure and women's
right in various ways. An important task has been advising
governments around the world on how to make agrarian reform
programmes more gender sensitive. "Governments need to
recognize women as farmers and landowners, and this is
important when land tenure reforms are initiated,' says Ms
Garcia.

Strengthening women's position

Research on the different ways in which men and women
have been affected by existing land tenure systems is also
an important part of the work done by FAO's Gender and
Development Service. "We provide support to research
institutions to develop case studies on women's access to
land," says Ms Garcia. "But there are gaps in the research,
and we need to know more about the consequences of different
legislation and land tenure systems. Only by gathering
knowledge can we push to further strengthen women's position
regarding land."

According to Ms Garcia, the first task is to create
awareness within FAO, other development agencies and
governments about the importance of recognizing women's
right to land. "FAO needs to incorporate the gender aspect
in all activities regarding agriculture and land tenure,
both when working with governments and in the villages," she
says. Women also need to be included in the training
meetings and extension services. "If women are not present
in the meetings where the right to land and other resources
is discussed and decisions taken, how will they know their
rights or have influence? FAO has to help ensure women's
involvement and empowerment."